Great American Ball Park is that big building down by the river where they play baseball and serve beer and food while you watch.

Or is it? Maybe it's actually a giant restaurant with a baseball game as entertainment.

That's what it looks like to me now that I've been behind the scenes with Executive Chef Gary Davis Jr. as he gets ready for an evening game. And I have a new appreciation for the sheer size of the ballpark and its food operation.

Davis, who's trained and experienced in fine dining, said sometimes people ask him if he's really happy with a job cooking hot dogs.

"Well, the joke's on them," he said. "Because we put out a lot of great food from our kitchens."

The food at the ballpark ranges from brats to sushi to burgers to Nashville hot chicken to the buffet at the Diamond Club with roast salmon with mango and pineapple salsa. There are suites, super-suites, clubs and private events and a restaurant. There is a cafeteria for the press. There are weddings and corporate events in the off-season.

Executive Chef Gary Davis holds one of his signature hot dog dishes at Great American Ball Park. Davis has been executive chef since the 2018 season. (Photo: Amanda Rossmann, The Enquirer/Amanda Rossmann)

Basically, it's a 40,000-table restaurant. Of course, it's not full every time, but the weekend in June when the Cubs were in town, they did two 35,000 attendance days and one 40,000.

The main factor in how busy they get in the food operation is how well the Reds are doing, said Davis. "But there's always new players or something that will still bring people in when they aren't at the top."

The chef grew up in Cincinnati and played shortstop and pitched for Purcell Marian High School in East Walnut Hills. After earning a bachelor's degree in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, a valuable stint working at the Hilton Netherland, then heading up all the operations at Jack Casino, he's now working his dream job.

Executive Chef Gary Davis stands inside of The Handlebar at The Riverfront Club at Great American Ball Park on Friday, June 28. (Photo: Amanda Rossmann, The Enquirer/Amanda Rossmann)

On any evening during a homestand, Davis travels the six kitchens, making sure everything is on schedule, everyone is where they should be, the block of frozen chili has thawed in time, the right number of bowls for ranch dip have been counted out.

At 4 p.m., wearing his chef coat, Nike Air Jordans and a step counter on his wrist, he checks in with the concessions kitchen on field level. The step counter is at around 8,000 steps.

This kitchen is where they get everything ready for the hot dog stands, the Fry Box stand and the Smokehouse. The ordering sheets for the day include 40 hotel pans of cheese, 200 pounds of pulled pork, 11 cambios of chili, 64 enormous bags of popcorn.

Davis' father, Gary Davis Sr., is slicing sirloin tri-tips they've smoked in-house for sandwiches at the Smokehouse. He retired from UPS, but didn't take to not working.

"He told me he needed a job," said Davis. "He's killing it down here. He was a cook in the military before he worked at UPS. Maybe that's where I get it."

One of the hotdogs served at Great American Ball Park crafted up by Executive Chef Gary Davis is made with jalape–os, pico de gallo and a Servatii's pretzel bun. (Photo: Amanda Rossmann, The Enquirer/Amanda Rossmann)

It does take some of the skills of a military commander to get this much food out to the fans. While Davis has the overview, he said success is planning and attention to detail.

In high school, he had a job bussing tables at the Grand Finale in Glendale, where his mother worked as a waitress.

"There was a lady named Virginia," he said (she is now the owner). She had a list of every single thing that a busser had to do. A different list for daytime and nighttime. I was very impressed by that."

Later, when he'd graduated and was working at the Hilton Netherland Plaza, he said, "Todd Kelly told me that anybody can learn to cook. What I needed to do was learn to manage."

He's still likely to do some cooking every day, stepping in to roll sushi or man the teppanyaki grill, but mostly it's motivating, teaching and organizing volume.

On the second floor, he checks in with his sous-chef Andrew Duncan, one of five sous-chefs and one executive sous-chef to see what's happening in the suites kitchen. It's like cooking for a restaurant, but instead of tables, it's suites, and it all has to be delivered at the same time. The cold food orders are being routed to one of the 54 suites or six super-suites.

High school kids are counting the cookies and checking the orders. During the season, about 63 people work in the food operation.

Executive Chef Gary Davis puts on gloves inside of the Scout's Club kitchen where his father, Gary Davis Sr., also works at Great American Ball Park. Davis has been executive chef since the 2018 season. (Photo: Amanda Rossmann, The Enquirer/Amanda Rossmann)

He cruises through the Machine Room. It opened originally as a full-service restaurant. Now it's set up as a fast-casual restaurant and is fairly quiet.

"Unless it rains," said Davis. "A five-minute rain delay, and this place fills up."

He visits the press dining room, makes sure the salad bar is set up by 5 p.m.

"This kitchen is really important to me," he said. "Reporters are working, they want more of a home-cooked meal, something a little healthier."

Then the clubs. There's the Handlebar and the Champion's Club. Each has its own price structure and menu. A ticket to the Champion's Club gets free food to the top of the eighth inning, with 10 action stations where attendants hand-dip ice cream or cook on a teppanyaki or grill burgers.

Then down to the Scout's Club. Cooks here are turning out variations on burgers to order, and there's a wall of grab-and-go items.

Then the Diamond Club. This is the prime spot in the ballpark and holds 330 people. The seats are behind home plate, and the buffet is lavish.

"People come before the game, eat the buffet, then go sit to watch the game and order brats and hot dogs and burgers," said chef Chris Motz, who creates the prime rib, the pork shank with caramelized shallots, the grilled asparagus. He also feeds the whole staff.

"In all the years I've worked here, I've probably seen four innings of baseball," said Motz.

A fried green tomato dish can be found inside of The Handlebar at the Riverfront Club at Great American Ball Park by Executive Chef Gary Davis.(Photo: Amanda Rossmann, The Enquirer/Amanda Rossmann)

We make a trip back up to the suites kitchen, where a full crew is filling orders. Two girls from China are breading chicken wings, one person is wrapping plates in plastic wrap.

"It takes a lot of labor to wrap everything," said Davis.

They use workers with a J-1 visa, temporary workers who come from Mexico, Dominican Republic, Thailand, Russia. They stay for a few months, just for the experience.

The person making the LaRosa's pizza just comes from LaRosa's.

At this point, just before the game starts and Davis walks back down to the exit, his step counter reads 16,000 steps.

And the game hasn't even started. He's not done.

"Usually I'll end up at about 23,000 steps," he said. That's 10 miles.

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Food writer Polly Campbell has selected the best restaurants in Cincinnati that hit the high-quality mark. They are full service, offer a wine list and cocktails, take reservations and serve a varied menu. Read more on these top spots here. (Photo: Primavista offers fine dining and a sweeping view.) Provided

(FINE DINING) Restaurant L: If there's a special place in your heart for the days of true fine dining, you'll love L, Chef Jean-Robert de Cavel's most elegant restaurant. Even if you have no such place in your heart, it's where to go to understand how that style set the standards for all restaurants. You'll find servers, directed by co-owner maitre d' Richard Brown, who knows the correct way to do everything, dishes with many layers of flavor and texture and luxurious ingredients. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

When you're at Restaurant L: Order foie gras, sweetbreads or caviar or scallops with octopus, chickpeas and couscous, or deCavel's always-changing, always-beautiful lobster salad. You have several choices of a prix-fixe menu, including a menu gourmand of six courses plus cheese and desserts, for $125.
301 E 4th St., Downtown, 513-760-5535, www.lcincinnati.com.Read the review: Jean-Robert's L is almost perfect The Enquirer/Kareem Elgazzar

(FINE DINING) Boca: It's at the address of the now-gone Maisonette, and honors that restaurant's 5-star legacy, but with a modern Italian-French menu and a highly original interior look. You can order half portions, making the menu versatile and easy to sample. File photo

(FINE DINING) Orchids: There have been several chef changes here recently, with corresponding modifications to the menu, but there's no kitchen in the city with as many resources or a dining room as classic and delightfully lavish as the restaurant in the Palm Court of The Cincinnati Netherland Hilton. The Enquirer/Kareem Elgazzar

When you're at Orchids: It's rated five diamonds by AAA and has four stars from Forbes. The French Art Deco dining room has always been matched by the beautiful presentation of the food and wine.
35 W. 5th St., Downtown, 513-564-6424, www.orchidsatpalmcourt.com. Read the review: Don't share your plate at Orchids at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Joe Simon for The Enquirer

(STEAK) Jeff Ruby, Precinct, Carlo and Johnny: Yes, these are three restaurants, but I'm counting them as one because they all rise to the same level and have similar menus and formats. Modern steakhouses all, with excellent steaks along with creative seafood and other entrees, raw bars or sushi, fine-dining service and lavish surroundings. The Enquirer/Jeff Swinger

When you're at Sotto: The menu is simple but perfect Italian food: Bagna cauda, bruschetta, house-made pasta such as bombolloti d'amatriciana, just a few entrees such as whole branzino and a sublime Bistecca Fiorentina, a lavishly-marbled porterhouse sliced and served with sides like white beans or escarole, to share.
118 E. 6th St., Downtown, 513-977-6886, www.sottocincinnati.com More: Polly's new favorite thing: Vitello tonnato at Sotto File/David Sorcher

(UPSCALE ITALIAN) Nicola's: Nicola Pietoso opened Nicola's in Over-the-Rhine well before anyone thought it had a future as the hottest restaurant neighborhood of the city. Ever since, the restaurant has been serving fine Italian food under several different chefs. Ryan Gosling ate there quite a few times when he was in town shooting a movie. File photo

(UPSCALE ITALIAN) Primavista: It's not on the cutting edge anymore, and mostly mentioned for its grand view from Price Hill, but Primavista still serves richly delicious Italian pastas and entrees.
The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II

When you're at Primavista: It does not, like Sotto, try to be scrupulously authentic or to be quite as creative as Nicola's. But the food is both luxurious and comfortable, the service is good, the owners are in the restaurant, and the chef has been there for more than 25 years. Carpaccio, lobster gnocchi, ravioli with walnut pesto, are among the choices.
810 Matson Place, East Price Hill, 513-251-6467, www.pvista.com. Read more about it: A rarity in the restaurant business, Primavista chef on 25th year in its kitchen Enquirer file

(ELEVATED ETHNIC) Mita's: Spanish and Latin American food inspires the fine food here. Chef Jose Salazar interprets classics such as ceviche and paella his way. Most of the menu is small dishes, starting with an all-Spanish cheeseboard and a jicama-mango salad, garlic shrimp, and arepas. Provided

When you're at Mita's: There is a divinely citrusy "posole" with seafood and lots of cilantro and green chilies, and a paella to share. An almost all-Spanish wine list matches the food.
501 Race St., Downtown, 513-421-6482, www.mitas.co.Read the review: Mita’s full of color, passion Rebecca A. Butts for The Enquirer

(ELEVATED ETHNIC) Phoenician Taverna: There are many restaurants that serve Lebanese and Middle Eastern food, but this place in Mason is special. It's not only the fresh pita bread and the array of the small Lebanese dishes called meze, but it's also the attentiveness of the owner, Wassim Matar, who believes that food is a joy of life and who is reliably at the restaurant whenever it's open. Tony Tribble for the Enquirer

When you're at Phoenician Taverna: You can simply graze from a table full of meze, such as m'hammara, a walnut-roasted pepper dip, baby okra in tomato sauce, kibbeh, including a vegetarian version, and several kinds of small meat or vegetable pies. Or move on to entrees of kebabs, grilled lamb loin or meat-filled grape leaves.
7944 Mason-Montgomery Road, Mason, 513-770-0027, www.phoeniciantaverna.com Photo by Tony Tribble

(ELEVATED ETHNIC) French Crust: It's not usual to think of French food as "ethnic," because it's been the basis for an international restaurant style. But there are classic Parisian bistro dishes that are as French as Edith Piaf, and you'll find them at this bistro from Jean-Robert de Cavel near Findlay market. The Enquirer/ Liz Dufour

(CONTEMPORARY AND LOCAVORE) Please: Ryan Santos used to do pop-up dinners around town that stretched the boundaries of menus and plate compositions. With that experience under his belt, he opened a tiny restaurant in Over-the-Rhine that offers imaginative use of local ingredients in intriguing dishes with unusual ingredients that may sound crazy, but make sense once you try them. Provided/Brooke Shanesy Studio

(CONTEMPORARY AND LOCAVORE) Bouquet:Stephen Williams, chef/owner of this charming restaurant on Covington's Main Street, is one of the chefs most dedicated to cultivating local sources for his ingredients. He shows them off skillfully in simple dishes tuned to the season. Shae Combs for The Enquirer

(CONTEMPORARY AND LOCAVORE) Salazar: It's tiny but mighty. Salazar exemplifies the modern bistro, with its fried Brussels sprouts, bone marrow butter, kale salad, pork chops and charcuterie. What makes it stand out from other bistro menus is just how good it all is. Enquirer

When you're at Salazar: The signature salmon based on the deconstructed ingredients of a bagel breakfast is a classic, but any of the seasonally-changing entrees are bold, honest, a good to the last swipe of the plate. If there's no table available, it's always fun to sit at the bar.
1401 Republic St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-621-7000, www.salazarcincinnati.com.Read the review: Salazar is simply satisfying The Enquirer/Joe Simon